The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 - Business Regulatory Impact Assessment

Section 3: Costs, impacts and benefits

Quantified costs to businesses

Costs to Government

There is likely to be a one-off cost for the update of the register to account for the changes required through the Act but this is not expected to exceed £2k. This will be met from existing budgets. The commencement date proposed will allow for an appropriate time to implement the changes to the platform that are required.

There will also be costs to the Scottish Government associated with the development of guidance for retailers which will be undertaken as part of the normal business of the Scottish Government Directorate of Population Health.

Costs to retailers

The expanded register will result in a small cost to businesses in undertaking the administrative requirements to register and to familiarise themselves with the legislation.

However, retailers who already sell tobacco and vapes should be registered in compliance with the 2010 Act, so will already be familiar with registration and existing legislation, which should limit the costs.

Costs of this proposal will be minimal for businesses in terms of familiarisation and admin costs, as registration can be online or on a paper form and there is no fee for registration. The system allows businesses with multiple premises to register initially and then add additional premises to their record. This cost is expected to be minimal and any cost is in time as the register continues to be free to use.

The phased approach to commencement with the registration offences coming into force 6 months later should also help with familiarisation costs.

As of 11 June 2026, there were 11,762 registrations for retailers on the Register, and it is likely that a large proportion of these businesses will be required to update their registration to confirm the range of products they sell, given the majority of retailers who sell tobacco and vapes now also sell nicotine products. There is no publicly available data on the number of retailers in Scotland that sell herbal smoking or nicotine products but not tobacco or vape products, meaning it is not possible to estimate the number of retailers that will need to submit a new registration for the first time.

Costs to Local Authorities

Once these provisions are commenced, it is anticipated that there may be some modest increased costs to Local Authorities to enforce the expanded register in terms of familiarisation with new legislation, however, Scottish Government will support this by working closely with SCOTSS and Trading Standards to provide guidance on the changes. The 6 month implementation period before the registration offences come into force will support the transition for local authorities to familiarise themselves with the legislation.

Local Authorities already undertake enforcement visits for existing register requirements, and it is anticipated that these additional products could be considered within existing visits. The majority of retailers who sell these products will already be registered to sell tobacco and vapes. It is therefore not anticipated that there will be a significant increase in the number of retail stores that require enforcement visits.

The 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a real-terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering funding of almost £15.7 billion, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant.

Local Government have responsibility to ensure local budget decisions deliver local and national priorities. This includes enforcement of legislation on registration requirements.

As of March 2026, since 2020-2021, there have been 48 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued for offences related to the tobacco and vapes register. This includes offences related to

a. Failure to notify a change of detail;

b. Carrying on a business whilst unregistered; and/or

c. Carrying on a business from premises for which that person is not registered

As set out by the figures above, whilst it is recognised that there is a level of non-compliance with existing registration requirements, this remains low.. Scottish Government continue to work with Trading Standards, SCOTSS and Local Authorities over ways to improve this. It is anticipated that the low level of cost involved and the support available from Trading Standards would encourage similar compliance with the expanded register. The 6 month delay before registration offences come into force would help with this transition, to support compliance and reduce the burden on Local Authorities for enforcement.

Other impacts

It is not expected that there will be other significant impacts than those set out above, including familiarisation costs with new requirements and the time taken to register new businesses/update existing registrations.

Scottish firms’ international competitiveness

N/A

Benefits to business

The expansion of the register is designed to support enforcement of newly regulated nicotine products and herbal smoking products. Compliant businesses may benefit from the enforcement of a wider range of products as, once commenced, the expanded register could provide the relevant information to Trading Standards to tackle those businesses who sell these products illegally.

Small business impacts

The preferred option would be the most appropriate for smaller businesses, who will likely be most impacted by the familiarisation and time costs to update/apply to be on the register. This commencement period provides a suitable lead in time to support small businesses to register these products, with an extended period before the registration offences come into force to help with the transition, whilst still achieving Scottish Government’s public health aims.

Investment

No impact on investment is expected. The majority of businesses to whom these obligations will apply will likely already be registered and familiar with the requirements. No previous impact on investment was seen when the register was implemented, or expanded, and the commencement period provides a suitable transition period for business to comply.

Workforce and Fair Work

Scottish Government do not anticipate significant cost increases, other than familiarisation and time costs to comply. Registration is free for business, and there is currently guidance, which will be updated, to reduce these impacts. The Tobacco team are also in place to support with any issues where they arise during the transition period and once the provisions are in force.

Climate change/ Circular Economy

No impact anticipated.

Competition Assessment

The registration requirements will apply to all registrable businesses equally, so no competition impact is anticipated. The transition period set by these commencement regulations will support all businesses to comply with the regulations.

Consumer Duty

Whilst the decision relating to the commencement of the extended retail register provisions will impact businesses, Scottish Government do not consider these Regulations to be a key strategic decision. Instead, these regulations commence the strategic decisions taken through the 2026 Act to expand the register.

The expansion of the register will provide Local Authorities with an effective tool to enforce new age of sale and free distribution restrictions introduced for nicotine and herbal smoking products under the 2026 Act, and any future provisions related to the display of these products.

This proposal will support our public health aims of reducing the use of these health harming products by children, young people and non-smokers.

There will be minimal negative impacts on the general public of the expansion of the register, as it aims to support effective enforcement of legislation related to age of sale, and do not expect that the general public will be harmed as a result of this proposal – we do anticipate that it will support the health of children and young people in limiting their access to these products.

There will be some impact on small businesses who will have to familiarise themselves with the legislation and register their businesses. However, many of these businesses will already be registered to sell tobacco and vapes under existing legislation, and so will have some awareness of the registration platform and registration requirements.

Alternative commencement periods were considered for commencing these provisions, which could have provided more time for businesses to prepare for the transition. However, it is not felt that a longer period would have achieved Scottish Government’s public health aims in an appropriate period of time. The preferred approach is proportionate and balances well the public health ambitions and the aim to support business during the transition.